


Interrogation: The Confession of The Innocent

by JaeKnight



Category: EXO
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Best Friends, Dark, Detectives, Friendship, Gen, Gritty, Interrogation, Male Friendship, Murder Mystery, Mystery, No Romance, One Shot, Psychological Drama, Psychology, Rival Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24995218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaeKnight/pseuds/JaeKnight
Summary: BREAKING NEWS: Oh Sehun found dead. He was last seen with actor and friend, Luhan.
Relationships: Lu Han & Oh Sehun, Lu Han & Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you give this a chance despite having no romance (though the subject may rely heavily on it) 
> 
> [ This fic was quote-unquote "critically-acclaimed" by reviewers haha ]
> 
> Enjoy! >:)

" _Believing is a choice._ You either live peacefully based on a lie or live miserably from the truth."

[Watch trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX4D11rIAWE&feature=emb_title)

* * *

12: 04 AM, December 25th

_"Breaking news. Celebrity, Oh Sehun, has been reported_ dead _in his home on the night of 24th of December, few hours before Christmas."_

Flashing red and blue lights from police cars and an ambulance concerned the whole neighbourhood. Instead of enjoying themselves on the joyous occasion with their loved ones, they were outside their houses, distracted from celebrating their feast on Christmas Eve, worried for their famous neighbor.

 _‘What happened?’_ most of them thought.

 _“He’s dead?”_ most of them gasped in shock with unexplainable fear in their eyes after hearing the news.

Commotion began when an ambulance team came out rolling a stretcher with a body covered with white cloth to their vehicle from a house—Oh Sehun’s house. Cameramen and reporters around ran to the team to get a good look at the body with their shameless cameras, but police officials blocked them away from the confidential scene.

Shocked, people around had their jaws dropped, gasping, after recognizing the broad shoulders and the long figure lying under the thin white cloth on a stretcher. Indeed, it was the rising star, Oh Sehun.

The news came like fire, invading TV channels, flooding social media feeds—spoiling everyone’s celebration. The news was unbearable, especially to his truest fans, who couldn’t do anything but wept for the fallen actor behind their screens. Everyone was clueless why such a thing happened.

Suddenly, a silhouette. A familiar silhouette walked out from the main doors of Sehun’s home, putting everyone in silence. Reporters reported and recorded everything they were seeing, journalists took pictures of every movement that was taking place. _He_ was calm, walking calmly as possible even with two police officers gripping his upper arms tight. He showed no weakness, no emotion, because every movement he chose to do, everyone had something to say about it.

However, as soon as they got nearer the police car, people noticed he was muttering to the police officers. The crowd couldn’t hear their indistinct conversation because of the loud noise that came from sirens and from the loud crowd. Questions started raising around with the exact same thought.

_Did Luhan, the man that walked out, killed his co-star, or who was more likely known as his best friend?_

Luhan’s brows and lips were tensed with anger, but his eyes said differently.

One from the crowd overheard Luhan’s conversation with one of the police officers, “Believe me, I’m innocent.”

The cop replied, "That'll be settled through an interrogation, boy."


	2. December 25th

**_“Many people underestimated love and fell blindly by its true power. You cannot underestimate love; love can be the strongest weapon to survive or the weakest reason to live.”_ **

1:34 AM, December 25th

Headache occurred as soon as he sat on his chair. He forgot to drink his medicine, so he had to rub his head to ease the pain that he was feeling.

_Detective Zhang Yixing_ a.k.a Lay was written down on the case file he was holding. He was immediately called at the middle of the night while celebrating his Christmas Eve with his family. He chose to leave his family because he's a passionate man who would do anything for justice, that's why he's one of the best in the field.

The room was small and dark, and the only thing that was lighting up the place was a lampshade sitting on the table. Some mirrors were around the room. Lay knew that those mirrors were two-way, so spectators could watch their interrogation.

Lay's sight blurred out when he chose to give his attention to the suspect—Luhan. His daughter adored the star before him. However, he was still a person, and no matter who's in front of him inside the interrogation room should be treated equally.

Tonight, Luhan was a suspect of a murder.

Luhan had an enigmatic look on his face, he didn’t exactly know what to feel. All he could do was to stare at the detective in front of him.

"Tell me about your co-star, Luhan," Lay asked, leaning his arms onto the table.

"Sehun's my best friend since we're little." Luhan looked at the detective who was frowning at him, waiting for him to continue. Luhan felt a stuffy feeling inside his chest, he couldn’t control himself, so he lost his composure. "Believe me, detective! I did not do i—"

Lay slammed the table hard to shut Luhan up. Luhan stuttered from the disturbing sound Lay made. "I don't want to hear that! Heard it many times, we'll get through it."

From what Luhan was seeing, the detective was having a rough time. He gulped, sat properly on his chair. However, Luhan couldn't calm down after everything that happened and after losing his composure. "I couldn't, I just can't. I've known him since summer camp when we were in grade school. Why would I kill him?" Luhan insisted, looking straight to Lay's eyes.

Intimidation ran through Lay's bones, feeling annoyed towards the man in front of him. Then he remembered, _'He's an actor.'_

Lay felt stupid for a second. "You can't fool me," he said, shaking his head with a smirk.

Luhan did not speak a word, he knew the man in front of him was superior and more powerful than him.

"So tell me, what were you doing at his house?" Lay proceeded.

"To celebrate Christmas," Luhan bluntly said.

Lay twitched his brow a bit. "With him? Not with your family?"

"My family lived in a province; it's 6 hours away from here. Do you think I have the time to travel that far after my work?" Luhan raised his voice.

Feeling disrespected, Lay pointed his finger with grudge, brows furrowed, to Luhan. "Hey! I'm the only one who's allowed to ask questions here, young man." His head started throbbing once more, but he tried to compose himself.

Luhan clenched his jaws, bit his lip to calm himself, and let the detective continue.

His intuition told him that Luhan did it. The way Luhan acted inside the room made his suspicions clearer. Intuition does not lie most of the time.

Lay did not want to be outsmarted by an actor—who potentially could be smarter than a detective can. Actors have their ways, so do detectives. And Lay wanted this interrogation to go process by process until Luhan felt more involved and eventually spilled the truth. However, he also wanted it not to be long, he did not want Luhan to scheme his crime over the interrogation.

Lay started asking questions like, "What happened before the incident?"

Luhan took a deep breath before answering. "We had a press conference for our latest movie, then,” he paused and continued, “I was at the rooftop, smoking." Luhan looked at the detective who raised a brow at the sudden surprise. "You smoke, I smoke as well."

> 9:14 PM, December 24th

> Thin warm air melted Luhan's frozen face when he lit up his cigarette. The soothing smoke that entered his lungs made him feel calm from all the strain he felt from work and false rumours. He tried to be free, even only for a second, as he respired the smoke out of his mouth and nose.
> 
> He was at the rooftop of the building where he and Sehun held their press conference. Luhan was staring at the night sky, letting the cold wind kiss his bare face.
> 
> The sound of the door opening from behind distracted Luhan from his lone moment. He turned his head around and saw his friend, Sehun, who came out from the rooftop door, digging his bare hands onto his pockets.
> 
> "I knew you were here." Sehun grinned as soon as he met his eyes with Luhan's.
> 
> Luhan scoffed and said, "Where else would I be?"
> 
> "The smoking area," Sehun joked with a shivering face because of the weather.
> 
> As soon as he stood next to Luhan, he eyed at the cigarette that Luhan was holding. "I thought you'd quit."
> 
> "Bad habits die hard," Luhan simply answered. He took one deep smoke on his cigarette before he threw it off the building.
> 
> Sehun did not respond back. He heard this from Luhan countless times. He did not care that much, he knew the reason why Luhan's having a hard time quitting from smoking. _He knew too well._ And he respected Luhan with that decision. But, he'd rather drink it off than smoke it off.
> 
> "Hey, how's Yoonjin, by the way?" Luhan asked Sehun hesitantly but with courage. The thought was always on the back of Luhan’s mind.
> 
> Sehun froze from his position, felt stabbed right to the heart. He gulped; he did not know exactly what to feel. However, he tried to compose himself and said, "We broke up."
> 
> Luhan did not speak a word, not yet. His mind didn’t process it immediately, and when it did, his jaw clenched, felt a sudden resentment that ran through his veins. He bit his lips, annoyed. He felt a sudden urge of wanting to punch Sehun in the face, but he could not. All he could do was to ask, “Why?”
> 
> Sehun looked at Luhan, his chest was heavy with an unexplainable guilt. Luhan was wearing a frown, he couldn’t look at Sehun and was looking away, he couldn’t even stand seeing Sehun on his peripheral view. Sehun knew right away that Luhan was mad, even the atmosphere said so.
> 
> Kang Yoonjin was Luhan's ex-girlfriend, his greatest love. They only dated for almost a year, but time didn’t define anything. He loved her very much. But they broke up because of Luhan's job—it was too complex for an ordinary girl like Kang Yoonjin. However, a few months after the break up, Yoonjin started dating Sehun.

"Ahh, so you were jealous and had some grudge against him," Lay concluded, looking directly through Luhan's eyes.

Luhan squinted his eyes, feeling offended. "Shouldn't you be more professional, detective?"

"Don't be so cocky just because you're popular!" Lay raised his voice, pointing his finger to him, trying to threaten him, and feeling provoked.

Luhan couldn't do anything but to stay silent.

"When was the last time you three met?"

Luhan was feeling a little bit frustrated but he tried thinking while looking above. "Uhh I can't really remember. I think I was at the café—"

"You have to be precise!" Lay demanded.

"Memory's unreliable," Luhan uttered. Lay shut up for a second, calmed himself down and let Luhan continue. "Last week, I was on my way on the taping and I bought some coffee. There, I saw them."

"You're lying!" The detective slammed his hand on the table, went for his files, and scanned it, which made Luhan confused. "You—It says here," the detective took a paper and showed it to Luhan, "you were with Yoonjin just last three days ago. And according to the news," he pointed his finger to one line saying, "Luhan and ex-girlfriend –Kang Yoonjin—caught dating again. Did Yoonjin break up with Oh Sehun, apparently Luhan's best friend and Yoonjin's current boyfriend?"

"Fuck," Luhan mouthed, looking away. "That's not true. Media can be a total pain in the ass. You just can't believe anything, detective."

"Then, why was it all over the news and papers?" Lay even showed more of the articles, which for Luhan were only rumours.

Luhan pinched the bridge of his nose that might release some of his frustration. "Rumours run faster than fire," he muttered. Then sarcastically said, "Welcome to showbiz, detective." He added, “I didn’t even know, until now, that they broke up.”

The detective felt provoked once more. "Rumours, as you said, said that you and Sehun ignored each other after you and Yoonjin broke. Is this true?"

Luhan did not deny nor agree.

But the detective continued, "It also said here that: one night, at a bar, Yoonjin was caught bruised and harassed because of you. Is this true?"

Luhan gulped, then leaned forward to the detective. "THAT IS ABSURD! I WOULDN'T DO SUCH THING TO HER, ALRIGHT?!"

"Then what happened?"

"BUNCH OF GUYS MADE FUN OF HER—GROPING HER! I JUST DEFENDED HER!" Luhan exclaimed, clearly furious.

"But then, it was reported that you didn’t have a single bruise. Then these guys were all beaten up. How are you able to handle those three men at once?"

"I had my training for self-defence," he simply responded.

"Sure, you did not abuse the girl, but you just made my job easier." Lay leaned forward to Luhan, with eyes looking directly to him. And slowly said in a deep low voice, "You have the ability to murder your own friend."

Luhan's eyes widened, astonished. "No—No. I couldn't do such... inhumanity."

"How come I feel no empathy in you? Your best friend," he emphasized, "just died."

Frown built in Luhan's face. "Empathy? You don't know how miserable I am right now. But you!" Luhan stood up from his seat, pushing his chair away. "You're the one who's making my empathy fade away! How dare you accuse me of Sehun's death?! I'm innocent! I have done nothing!"

Lay also stood up. As much as he wanted to pin the latter on the wall and beat him—he couldn’t. Officers that were behind the room, watching would accuse him of an assault. He must do his job properly and decently.

"Then, tell me. Who did it?" Lay said like he was demanding.

"I don't know." That was all Luhan could say.

"You don't know? You don't know?! HA!" Lay laughed. "You two were alone in his house, for fuck's sake! Who else would do it?"

Luhan's face softened, looking down, and feeling a sudden weakness. "I don't know."

"Look at me! Say that again," Lay ordered.

"I don't know." Luhan shook his head, looking at the detective in front of him with furrowed brows. "I don't know, alright! He just died in front of me!"

"But you didn't call the police nor the ambulance," the detective stated. "It was your neighbour who called."

Luhan froze.

"Why didn't you call 911 in the first place?"

Luhan sat again on the chair to calm down, so did the detective. "I-I-I don't know. I was scared, I didn’t know what to do." The detective was about to speak, but the actor spoke first. "There... There was a boy."

"Boy? What boy?" The detective's headache became worse from the sudden confusion. Besides, it was almost 2AM. He scanned the pages again to look at the crime scene photos. "I was informed that it was only you two inside the house."

"I know, but he _vanished_."

"Do you know this boy?" Lay suddenly felt alarmed.

"No, but we met him before the incident."

"We? You meant you and Sehun?" Lay assured, Luhan nodded. "What happened?"

> 9:32 PM, December 24th

> Luhan went out first from the rooftop.
> 
> Sehun chose to stay for a couple of minutes on the rooftop to do some thinking. After he was content, Sehun went back inside.
> 
> Sehun was walking down the hallway when he saw Luhan crouching on his knees with a smile on his face talking to a young boy who was wearing a worn out coat—which was too big for him, and had very messy hair. However, he could see through the young boy’s eyes how delighted he was talking to Luhan. It wasn’t hard to figure that the boy was a fan.
> 
> "What are you doing up here alone, young man?" Luhan asked the boy, trying to be friendly.
> 
> "I was looking for you!" he said in excitement, almost jumping on his place. "I knew I'd find you here!" Luhan smiled softly. It was heart-warming for Luhan when he could see through a fan's eyes that they appreciate their work. "I watched all your movies with Sehun at the windows of a TV shop!" He said, gritting his teeth. He was also holding a DVD copy that Luhan just signed.
> 
> But the boy's story made Luhan suspicious. "Did you come here alone?"
> 
> "Yes, just by myself," the boy said with an enthusiastic nod.
> 
> "How did you get in?" Luhan stood up properly.
> 
> "I sneaked in," he bluntly said. "I'm really a big fan of yours—"
> 
> Footsteps distracted the two from their conversation, turning their heads where they heard the sound. It was Sehun, standing tall in the middle of the hallway watching them.
> 
> The boy's eyes widened in excitement, and jumped from his position then ran to Sehun. He got starstruck as he got nearer to Sehun, he forgot what to say; all he could do was to hand out his DVD copy of Sehun and Luhan's movie with a grin and eyes shining. Sehun did not hesitate and signed the happy boy’s copy for the kid.
> 
> "Merry Christmas," Sehun said with a soft smile.
> 
> "Y-you're the best!" The boy stuttered.
> 
> Sehun forced a smile at the boy, patted his head, not in the mood to entertain fans unlike Luhan.
> 
> The boy stared at Sehun too long from being starstruck, Sehun started to feel uncomfortable. "Can I have your necklace? That looks really awesome!"
> 
> Sehun ignored the kid and gave his attention back to Luhan. "Hey, let's go."
> 
> Luhan kept pace with Sehun, but he took one last peek at the boy they left behind.
> 
> The boy only stood there, grinning at his signed copy of his favourite movie.

"So, he was a fan," the detective concluded as he jot down notes on his notepad. "Then what happened?"

"We went to his house," Luhan said, referring to Sehun's house. "I prepared the drinks, he lit up the fireplace. We drank and rela—"

"You drink whiskey?" Lay interrupted and assured, since he saw a picture of whiskey glass on his documents.

Luhan nodded and continued, "And he had too much whiskey."

"And you?"

"So do I," Luhan admitted. "But he had more. We felt tipsy and heavy on the process, and we came to the point talking about Yoonjin."

> 11:38 PM, December 24th

> “How was she?” Luhan asked. It was a hard topic but Luhan couldn’t easily take Yoonjin off his mind, especially now that she broke up with Sehun.
> 
> It took a while before Sehun could think of an answer. "Doing fine, I guess." He filled his glass again with whiskey. He even scoffed for a little because he was out of his mind.
> 
> "Aren't you concerned at all?" Even Luhan's eyelids were a bit heavy, emotions overpowered his consciousness.
> 
> Sehun spilled his drink from his mouth and hissed, "Fuck." He wiped his mouth with his heavy hand, completely ignoring Luhan.
> 
> Luhan immediately hit his temper. He was annoyed with Sehun's unreasonable behavior that he was giving to him. "Are you mocking me?" He said in a cold monotone, glaring at the fireplace.
> 
> "Mocking you? Pft. What are you talking about?" Sehun said, mockingly. Luhan had enough of his bullshit. He stood up, collared Sehun up from his seat, dropping the whiskey away from his grip. "Look what have you done," Sehun uttered, eyeing on the carpet where the glass dropped.
> 
> "Look at me!" Luhan tightened his grip to Sehun's collar. Sehun looked at Luhan seriously. "You...I trusted you to do what I couldn't do! And now, you act like you didn't even love her at all!"
> 
> Luhan fell down on the floor after receiving a hard punch from Sehun right on the face. "Fuck you! First of all, you said you were now cool with our relationship! And now, you act like you were never cool at all!"
> 
> Luhan stood up, wiping his bleeding lips. He punched back twice, and collared him once more. "And you actually believed that?!"
> 
> "OF COURSE, I DID! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?!"
> 
> Feeling stupid for Sehun, Luhan punched Sehun once more. "FOR FUCK'S SAKE, SEHUN! You know how much I love Yoonjin. And you—YOU'RE MY FUCKING BESTFRIEND AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME? DID YOU EVEN REALLY THINK I WOULD BE COOL WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP! HA! NEWS FLASH: YOU'RE WRONG!"
> 
> Sehun pushed Luhan away from him. "Why put the blame on me, huh? You were the one who FUCKED UP YOUR RELATIONSHIP! Not me, not her," then he pointed to Luhan and pushed him with a finger on Luhan’s chest, "BUT YOU!"
> 
> Luhan had his jaws and fists clenched. "You. Don't talk to me." He walked out of the room with eyes on Sehun, bringing his glass of whiskey.
> 
> Luhan stayed at the balcony near the staircase to catch some fresh air. He looked at what-supposed-to-be a happy scene where all Christmas decorations from houses lightened up the neighbourhood, however, he didn’t care, his feelings made the view felt bland. He was too angry.
> 
> Sehun's main door caught his attention when he saw that it was completely open from the view above at the balcony. He was certain he closed the door. _'Why is it open?'_ he thought.
> 
> He drank the last drop of his whiskey then he turned his back to go to Sehun.
> 
> To his surprise, Sehun was behind him, staring so coldly.
> 
> "Shit," he mouthed. Luhan's heart sank immediately, surprised seeing Sehun looking so pale. "Why's your—"
> 
> Sehun heavily fell down on his knees until he was completely lying on the floor.
> 
> Luhan was confused, completely confused. Sehun was not moving, but his eyes were wide open.
> 
> "Sehun?"
> 
> The effect of the alcohol faded away in a glimpse. Luhan suddenly felt sobered. He slowly crouched down to his knees. He shook Sehun's shoulders with hesitations.
> 
> "Sehun."
> 
> Sehun was not moving an inch, nor blinking—this completely woke Luhan’s senses up. Luhan's heart throbbed fast and hard.
> 
> "SEHUN!"
> 
> His eyes widened, terrified. He crawled away from Sehun, too shocked from the sudden events.
> 
> Sehun died before his eyes.
> 
> Too many thoughts entered his mind, he didn't know what to react first. He rubbed his forehead from the mixed emotions he was feeling. Then, he heard a _movement_ —a human.
> 
> He panicked and looked where the sound came from.
> 
> He saw the _boy_ from earlier, standing behind the pillar, shocked, and holding a necklace and a _phone_.

  
  


"So, it was the boy who called!" Lay concluded.

"I don't really know," Luhan responded.

"You're a fucking liar! Everything makes sense now." Lay slammed the table. "You said you're the one who made the drinks. And guess what, my team saw pills in the kitchen. I say, to your grudge against Sehun, you put those pills only to his drink."

Luhan's breath became heavier. He slammed the table and defended himself, "No... No. That's absurd!"

"And, why would a boy call the police? I say he witnessed everything, and that's enough a reason for him to call."

Luhan couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why would the boy vanish just like that? I say he was scared that he might be your next victim."

"That's not true, detective!"

Lay smirked. "I know I shouldn't consider that you're an actor. But I can't help it. You're one of the best these days. So, it's perfectly possible that everything you just said was an act."

"THIS IS HOSTILE!" Luhan stood up, slamming the table. "You're not even there! The boy should be here to testify!"

Lay faced Luhan as he stood up with a lower voice. "Do you know the boy?"

Luhan shamefully shook his head.

"The team will search for him first thing tomorrow. But for now," Lay uttered. But his head pounded once more. Still, he continued, "You will be under our custody."

"NO! This is not possible! I did not do anything! I'm innocent."

"Officers, take him!" Lay shouted somewhere at the door, ordering his fellow officers to handcuff Luhan.

Four officials went into the room, opened the lights, and took him, _Lay_.

Lay was confused.

"What?" Lay tried to jerk himself away from them. "Not me! Wait, what—why are you wearing white clothes? Where are your badges and uniforms?"

Lay was utterly confused as the four people took a hold of him. Lay was trying to get away from them. But their grip was too tight. "Get away from me! Get Luhan!"

"Luhan, calm down," one said to him.

Lay pulled back. "What? I'm not Luhan. What are you talking about? I'm Detective Zhang Yixing." He pointed to the person in front of him. “That’s Luhan.”

The officials looked at the direction. The officials looked at each other with a despised look on their faces.

Lay glared at Luhan who had a triumphant look on his face.

"Call the doctor!" One ordered the other. The other ran as fast as he could out of the room.

"What doctor?!" Lay pushed everyone away, still jumbled from everything that was happening. "Can't you see," he walked towards Luhan, "He's the one you should capture. Not me! I'm the detective. Arrest this man!" Lay was about to take Luhan's hand aggressively, but he hurt himself instead when his hand met a _cold glass_.

Lay looked at his hand, thinking, 'What the hell is happening?'

Lay looked once more at Luhan—who was standing in front of Lay. Lay felt daunted, he punched Luhan.

Luhan was still standing.

Lay's fist was bleeding. He groaned from the pain he felt.

He looked at Luhan, all shattered. But Luhan was still standing.

He frowned from all the confusion he was feeling. He looked at the officers. "Are you seeing this?"

" _It's a mirror, Luhan_ ," one said.

It did not sink in at first. Lay refused to swallow what the officer just said. "No. No, What? YOU'RE LYING! Can't you see? He's standing just right there!" Lay pointed at Luhan.

Two people came into the room in haste.

"Who are you?!" Lay stood back after he saw a man in white lab gown nearing him.

"I'm your doctor, Luhan," the said-doctor said calmly. "Why haven't you been drinking your medicines?"

"I TOLD YOU THAT I'M NOT LUHAN! I'M ZHANG. YI. XING! HE'S LUHAN!" Lay pointed again at Luhan.

"His delusions became more severe," the said-doctor informed his colleagues that were beside him.

"Come here, now." The doctor carefully went to Lay.

"What?! What delusions? What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" Lay was sweating from where he was standing. He was staying away from the people around him. He stared at the so-called doctor, his face softened as soon as he connected what was happening and realized that the doctor was serious. "Are you saying I'm crazy?"

The doctor and his colleagues slowly walked around Lay, cornering him. “STAY AWAY FROM ME! STAY AWA—” Lay’s sight blurred out when he felt a thick needle pierced his arm.

>   
>  11:44 PM, December 24th

> "You. Don't talk to me." Luhan was about to walk out from the room, until Sehun spoke.
> 
> "Do you know why she broke up with me?" Sehun’s voice cracked, he was weak and vulnerable.
> 
> The question was a reason enough why Luhan stopped and stayed. He did not turn around, but he waited for Sehun to continue.
> 
> Feeling regretful, Sehun said, "She still loves you."
> 
> Luhan froze. He may be drunk, but it entered Luhan's mind clearly. He had a sense of doubt.
> 
> "You're lying. She hates me."
> 
> "FUCK!" Sehun was mad, he threw the bottle away beside him to the wall. "HOW I WISH SHE HATES YOU!"
> 
> Luhan was confused about what his feelings were.
> 
> "I thought, too, she moved on because she said so. BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FROM BELIEVING TOO MUCH!" Sehun kicked the side table away furiously.
> 
> Luhan still could not move. He doubted Sehun.
> 
> Sehun sat on a corner, pulling his hair, sweating, and feeling so hopeless. He was crying. He, too, loved Yoonjin like the way Luhan did.
> 
> Luhan was only lucky to get first in line.
> 
> "I need some fresh air." That was all Luhan could say.

Luhan's eyes were struck by the light, making him flinch a little bit. White ceiling was the first thing Luhan saw. His head felt heavy, but better. He tried to sit from his bed.

He was alone in the room. He stood up, and slowly walked to his table. His heart pounded fast as soon as he saw a hundred of himself in front of the shattered mirror.

He looked at his fist, it was all wrapped up with bandages. And he _did_ feel pain as he tried to move it. However, he was still feeling skeptical. He wanted to see it for himself so he removed the bandage and saw his bruised hand.

"So it's true," he muttered to himself, realizing that everything that happened was real. His head throbbed, and he muttered, "Not again."

As he was staring to his fist, he had a glimpse of the papers underneath his hands. He scanned the papers. There were no photos, no documents, no records, but it was all full of drawings.

The twist of a knob surprised Luhan and made him stand back.

It was the doctor.

Luhan remembered the doctor.

"How are you? Are you feeling better?" The doctor asked, closing the door. But Luhan did not respond.

Feeling curious and confused about everything, all he asked was, "What's the date today, doc?"

"It's Thursday, March 31." The doctor observed Luhan's actions. It was obvious that Luhan was lost. "You can sit down."

Luhan sat down on the chair, feeling lost, feeling confused. He wanted to break down from tears. "Can you—Can you tell me how long I've been here?" He looked at the doctor, hoping for hope. He was feeling helpless.

"More than a year."

Luhan was speechless. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing. "No more lies, doc. How long have I been staying here?"

The doctor felt grief and sympathy within his bones. "How are you able to recover, Luhan, when you can't accept the reality in front of you?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE LYING! THE REALITY IS THAT I KILLED SEHUN! THAT'S WHY I'M HERE! YOU THINK I'M CRAZY FR—"

"But you did not kill Sehun."

"What?" His tone lowered down. "You're lying again?"

The doctor’s eyes were serious and looking towards Luhan. "He killed himself."

Luhan pulled back. "I don't understand."

"Sehun had been suffering from depression those days. It started when he and Yoonjin broke up." The doctor took a pause, looking at the confused Luhan. "He put the pills on his own drink. And he exactly died in front of you, just like he planned."

"Planned? How do you know this?"

"You told during the interrogation the night he died. Do you not remember?"

"No, I was proven guilty. And I admitted my crime," Luhan insisted.

"We thought you were, but the boy testified saying he saw everything. And evidence was compatible."

"The boy? You mean _the kid_?" An image of the boy immediately appeared on Luhan's head. The boy who was holding a phone.

"Yes, Zhang Yixing—he was the kid. You pretended all this time to be that kid, who happens to be, in your world, a detective." The doctor came nearer to Luhan. "You can't accept the fact that Sehun died. You cannot blame anyone because he did that to himself. You became paranoid, Luhan, until you created your own reality where you have to blame somebody— which happens to be you."

Luhan reflected from all he did. It was hard to remember everything—the truth.

The doctor continued, "And in your world, you don't want to be you—the one who killed his best friend. You tried to become someone else, someone innocent. And he was Lay."

Luhan's mind was still processing from everything the doctor said. "Where's—Where's the kid?"

"He's safe with the orphanage. And you're lucky enough he testified to prove your innocence."

"Where's Yoonjin?"

"As far as I'm concerned, she went West. She could not accept that you lost your sanity. It was too hard for her. Sehun, being dead. And you..." he hesitated, "being like this. She could not watch your career fall, especially you."

Feeling tormented, the doctor sighed. "I've been telling you the exact same story over and over again. You just can't get out of your own world."

Everything was unreal to Luhan. He needed some time to think. "I need a moment, doc."

"But please, before you go out, drink your medicine." The doctor offered the tray with two capsules and a glass of water on it to Luhan.

Luhan nodded, and drank the medicine that was offered. He left the doctor in the room alone.

> It was late at night but everyone on the station was busy from the latest murder case.
> 
> Luhan just finished his interrogation and he was _not yet proven innocent_ until the boy testified for the investigation.
> 
> Luhan was digging his face to his palms, he still couldn't believe what happened. His chest throbbed hard, feeling so messed up.
> 
> "What happened, Sehun?" He asked himself.
> 
> Pair of heels made Luhan lift his head, he easily recognized who it was from the way she walked and the way it sounded. He was right, it was Yoonjin.
> 
> "Yoonjin." His heart sank.
> 
> "Luhan," she panted, catching her breath.
> 
> "Yoonjin." Before he could go to Yoonjin, she ran to hug and comfort Luhan.
> 
> He needed it—her comfort. Yoonjin rubbed Luhan's shoulders as he lent his head to her chest. He missed it—the comfort of her hug. He missed her. However, everything was in bad timing. Sehun died—that was the bottom line.
> 
> "What happened?" she asked, still trying to comfort Luhan.
> 
> "I don't know," Luhan grieved. "Everything just happened in a blink of an eye."
> 
> "There must be a reason."
> 
> "Don't be scared, kid."
> 
> Yoonjin and Luhan looked at one another when they heard a voice that came out from the speaker. They figured that the interrogation for the boy had started.
> 
> They both took a deep breath and went to the spectator's room.
> 
> They saw a kid facing a detective. The boy looked scared. His eyes were trembling; he couldn't sit still from what he saw.
> 
> "So, what's your name, kid?" The detective tried to sound gentle because the suspect was only a boy.
> 
> "I'm—I'm Zhang Yixing, b-but my pals call me Lay."
> 
> "Ok, Lay. So, why are you at Sehun's house at the middle of the night? Where are your parents?"
> 
> The boy, Lay, scowled. "I-I have no parents. I live with my pals at the alley, downtown."
> 
> "Your pals?" The detective coughed, but he never really cared about his friends. "And?"
> 
> "And Sehun dropped this." He dug his hands onto his pocket, sticking his tongue out. "This." Then he showed the detective the necklace Sehun dropped.
> 
> Behind the mirrors, Yoonjin felt pain when she saw the necklace she gave to Sehun. "No."
> 
> She couldn't take it, that even the smallest things could be the reason to make her feel distressed.
> 
> Luhan could feel tears that were about to roll to her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder. All he could do was to be a man for her and offer a shoulder to cry on even if he was in the same position.
> 
> "I-I," the boy's voice started to feel shaky. "I forgot to close the door because I heard people arguing, so I tried to find somewhere to hide—it was under the dinner table." He couldn't speak for a moment, trying to recall what had happened. "I-I was so afraid. I heard the sound of broken glasses, furniture being thrown, and loud voices. I thought I was in the wrong house. My idols won't be fighting like this, right? I mean, I always see them smiling on TV, very friendly. I was so scared, I thought the men fighting would punish me and send me to orphanage again, I don't want to be there."
> 
> "And then?"
> 
> The boy sniffed, he was having a cold. "I was about to go, because I was sure then that I was in the wrong house, but I heard silence. I couldn't move, of course, they might hear me. And I hear footsteps nearing me. I was so scared—the people in the house might hurt me or kill me. I almost cracked my voice." He gulped. "And to my surprise, I saw Sehun's shoes. I've always wanted those shiny black shoes. So I thought I was in the right house. I don't know whether should I give him the necklace or not when I smelled him drunk. I couldn't see him because of the table cloth, only I saw his shadow and his shoes. I heard him sniffing for a couple of times, it was a familiar sound—I mean, the way the sniffing sounded—deep and sharp, I always hear that from the teenage boys who live downtown as well. I knew it was cocaine— _he was on drugs_."
> 
> "Oh, my god," Yoonjin gasped from what she had heard. Luhan was surprised as well.
> 
> The boy continued, "He chuckled—think he was high already, I think he already had some earlier. He dropped something—I saw it was a pill, but I never really cared what it was until I heard him say, 'Let me share you my misery' And I heard him drink."
> 
> ***
> 
> It took months before the case was solved. Everything the boy said was true. The whole nation paid attention to their case, after all, Sehun was an influential actor in the industry.
> 
> With the truth told, Luhan learned that Yoonjin still loved him. He chose not to be with her again. If he did so, it would be a sin against Sehun.
> 
> Yoonjin's concern was all on Luhan. Luhan had always been drinking ever since and smoked frequently to relieve the stress and pain he was feeling. Even turned down big projects for his career.
> 
> The effect of Sehun's death on Luhan was catastrophic.
> 
> He was the last person who couldn't understand why Sehun did such a thing.
> 
> For Lay, he was unhappy with the orphanage. Police department sent him there. He wasn't free, he did not enjoy doing the chores and tasks ordered to him. All he wanted to do was play around. Now, he couldn't. And from his observations, the orphanage never really cared about their orphans.
> 
> Luhan was at the orphanage, paying Yixing a visit because he was bored. He also brought another kid with him.
> 
> He waited for the boy at the playground. Lay was excited to hear that his idol, Luhan, paid him a visit.
> 
> "Hey." Luhan smiled at the boy. "Do you like it here?"
> 
> Lay was unsure what to say. He didn’t want to tell a lie nor tell the truth.
> 
> Luhan immediately knew what his answer was. "Do you want to get away from here?"
> 
> Lay's face lightened.
> 
> Luhan brought Lay to his unit, leaving the other kid at the orphanage. Lay was now free, and not to mention, _happy_ that he's under the roof of his greatest idol.
> 
> Luhan watched and adored the kid play around his house. But he was drunk. Lay did not bother because Luhan seemed harmless.
> 
> "You seem so smart," Luhan praised the kid.
> 
> Lay grinned. "I'm the smartest among my friends."
> 
> Luhan smiled, he patted the boy's head. "It's late, you better go get some sleep."
> 
> "Okay." He smiled.
> 
> He watched Lay jump to his bed without even grooming up.
> 
> Luhan drank whiskey while listening to orchestral music playing in his living room...laughing.
> 
> He laughed how _love_ fucked up their lives. He underestimated love a hundred times; yet, love always seemed to prove its worth—its purpose.
> 
> He let an hour pass before he checked on Lay. The room was dark, but the shy light passing from the window lightened Lay's face. He could see how happy his sleep was. Lay seemed like he had moved on.
> 
> Luhan was jealous.
> 
> Luhan wanted to sleep the way this innocent kid was sleeping.
> 
> Luhan despised it.
> 
> "Shameful," he muttered. Luhan took one last sip on his glass and placed it on the side table.
> 
> He took the pillow beside the kid. He slowly covered the pillow to the boy's face. But then, he saw Lay flinched, Lay's eyes widened in surprise and shifted _in terror._
> 
> Lay screamed for his life.
> 
> _'There's no turning back,'_ Luhan thought. He pushed the pillow to Lay's face.
> 
> Lay fought for his life.
> 
> Lay struggled for his life.
> 
> Lay tried to breathe for his life.
> 
> Luhan took Lay's life in a matter of seconds.
> 
> Luhan did not know it would turn his life upside down _forever_.

  
  


It was late at night, but the staff he passed by were busy. Some nurses greeted Luhan a, "Good evening, sir."

Luhan only gave a half smile, not in the mood of greeting back. He wanted some fresh air, so he went to the balcony.

He turned his head from left to right to check if there were people around. He waited for one doctor to fade out from his sight. Then, he spitted the two capsules he was holding for a couple of minutes on his mouth. He made a bitter face from the unlikely taste of the medicine.

He observed the dark surrounding him. It was beautiful, for him, to see nothing but black and a moon. Perfect enough to think and process everything the doctor said to him.

"I don't believe a word he said," Luhan muttered to himself, shaking his head full of bitterness. "And Sehun planned this?" He questioned himself, and then he chuckled. "Impossible. If he planned on turning me into a crazy man so I could feel his depression. _He failed_. I'm not crazy because everything is a lie. Only _I_ know the truth."

He took a deep breath, letting the wind enter him. Then, he sighed. He looked at his left wrist, he thought he was wearing his watch, but he was not. He looked back at the hallway and saw a nurse.

"Hey miss," he called the nurse.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind telling me what the time is?" Luhan kindly said.

The nurse looked to her wristwatch and said, "It's almost 1:34 AM."

Smiling, he asked, "Oh. Can you tell me where the interrogation room is? I seem to be lost."

** END **

_**"Believing is a choice. You either live peacefully based on a lie or live miserably from the truth."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation only available on AFF https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1054041/


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